What does it smell like?
Can it give you cancer?
What is the difference between THC and CBD?
What is the difference between Cannabis and Hemp?
Similarly, there may be descriptions that are often used, but there isn’t a single cannabis odour. There are many different scents from the multiple terpenes found in cannabis. Some may be more fruity or sweet, others will smell more like fuel, pine, lemon, skunk, etc..
There have not been any proven cases of cancer caused by cannabis. If cannabis use was implicated in cancer, the source would likely not be the cannabis itself, but the carcinogens created though combustion of plant material inhaled as smoke. It has been hypothesized that cannabis smoke may still cause lung issues, but it is less severe than tobacco, and usually consumed at a much lower rate vs tobacco smokers, who often smoke several cigarettes per day. One way to limit risk is to use a vaporizer, which heats dry cannabis without reaching combustion. This also drastically reduces the smell.
THC and CBD are two of the main cannabinoids, of which there are many, in the cannabis plant. Both have medical benefits; however THC is generally considered to be the property associated with the “high”. CBD does not cause a “high”, and is known for its health benefits.
Hemp is a type of cannabis plant, but it is generally grown for industrial purposes and has extremely low amounts of THC, although it does have CBD.
This is a contentious issue, as some say it isn’t, some say it is, and some make the distinction of it being ‘habit forming’ or psychologically, not physically, addictive. If it is addictive, it is for 0-10% of users, but more unbiased, properly performed studies need to be done on this.
Can you overdose on cannabis?
You cannot die of a cannabis overdose. However, ‘overdose’ doesn’t actually mean ‘death’, that is just what we think of when we hear it. When one overdoses on cannabis, they may feel uncomfortable, paranoid, or anxious, especially from “sativa” strains. This can be reduced with CBD since it counteracts THC. Black pepper has also been found to work, although this has been largely anecdotal, and further study is needed. One may also just lay down and wait it out.
Is it more dangerous to drive drunk or drive high?
It really depends on dosage. Alcohol and cannabis affect people in different ways, and alcohol seems to be the more dangerous of the two, however, both can impair and be dangerous. Please never drive while impaired by any substance.
What is the penalty? The fine will be up to $1000, and up to four months in jail. If you injure or kill someone, it will be much longer. With bill C46, it is essentially a ‘zero tolerance’ policy. If someone consumes cannabis, they may not be able to safely drive for hours but may have
THC-plasma levels for weeks beyond any impairment. Biological tests only measure the THC level - not whether someone is currently intoxicated. Trained officers may use discretion after administering sobriety tests, and allow for higher levels of THC in a saliva test than the legal limit before requiring a blood sample or making an arrest. This is still yet to be seen, and there are sure to be legal challenges.
What kinds of people consume or smoke cannabis? While stereotypes may exist, there really isn’t a specific “kind” of person. All walks of life can, and do, consume cannabis for various reasons.
What do you do if you're babysitting and a kid finds cannabis and eats it? Telling their parents is a good idea, but it’s important to clarify a couple different ways this could happen: If it is either a live plant or the typical “dry flower” cannabis, there likely won’t be much of an effect at all. It contains the orally inactive THCA, which needs to be heated to high temperatures to be converted to the psychoactive cannabinoid, THC. On the other hand, an oil or edible configuration is likely to have active THC, and at a higher concentration. This is important to know since active dosage matters, even though no dose is life-threatening. As mentioned before, adults are expected to be responsible to prevent this from even being possible, and
licensed cannabis producers are required to use child-safe packaging.
What happens if a kid is caught smoking cannabis at school? I would suggest talking to your school board to address this question. Possession of any amount of cannabis for those under the legal age of either 18 or 19 is still illegal and will remain so after Oct 17.
How do you stop kids from smoking cannabis? I agree that education is best, so people can
be prepared to make the best decisions for themselves. This should apply to cannabis in conjunction with more dangerous drugs such as alcohol, tobacco, and opiates. One source of information is the CSSDP toolkit for educating youth. There is a lot of false information that has come out during prohibition, which needs to be fact checked before it is believed.
I have included reference links throughout this article and asked multiple sources to read it over to verify my statements. For doing so, I would like to thank Jason Coughlin of Shay’s Roots, Patrick Moher, Dan Cochrane, Hart Steinfeld of The Cannabis Show and Dessy Pavlova and Sarah Daniels of CSSDP
by Conor McCannabis
*****
I give permission to reprint this article in full, royalty-free, as long as writing credit is given to me as either or both of ‘Mark Hope’, or ‘Conor McCannabis’, with a link to my twitter account: @ConorMcCannabis. Please let me know if you intend to publish this, and ask permission if you would like to use a portion, or edit the article, prior to doing so. Thank-you.
Bio (Can be edited as you see fit):
Mark Hope, better known in the cannabis community as his twitter handle: “Conor McCannabis”, is a cannabis advocate, writer, investor, and patient. He is also part-owner of two cannabis businesses: ‘CannaHelpYou.ca’, which helps patients with harvesting and processing their cannabis, including mobile rosin pressing, and ‘Shay’s Roots’, an online prescription cannabis clinic with a focus on patient care and education. Shay’s Roots gets its name from a similar story to the famous “Charlotte’s Web”: helping a girl named Shay stop her seizures using cannabis. Shay’s Roots is opening a physical clinic location very soon in Edmonton, AB.
Originally from Saskatchewan, Mark Hope took Business Admin at NAIT in Edmonton, and has a background in marketing and business development, as well as experience as an entrepreneur. In 2017, he ran for City Council in Edmonton, but is now fully committed to the Cannabis Industry.
Is it addictive?
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